


Not Yet

by bigblueboxat221b



Series: How Does Your Marriage Work? [2]
Category: Come From Away - Sankoff & Hein
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Diane POV, Don't copy to another site, F/M, Kind Stranger, Leaving Gander, Musicals, Separation Anxiety, They didn't kiss in Gander
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-27 22:29:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20053561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigblueboxat221b/pseuds/bigblueboxat221b
Summary: Diane hadn't expected to have to sit in her original seat on the plane home - two dozen rows away from Nick.





	Not Yet

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This is not RPF  
While Nick and Diane in the musical are based on real people, this story is set strictly in the fictional representation of them in the musical, ‘Come From Away’. I haven’t done any research into their personal lives, and anything further than what is canon in the musical is completely made up, with the exception of some geographical details. This is not intended to represent the real life couple in any way, their thoughts, attitudes or actions. It’s just my brain saying, ‘what if?’, as it does to every story that resonates with me.

“Finally,” Diane heard the woman in front of her say as they boarded the bus. They were returning to the plane after five unexpected days in Newfoundland, on the edge of the world, not knowing what was really happening in her country or the rest of the world. She should feel relieved, or glad, or some other positive emotion. But as she and Nick found seats – together, of course – Diane couldn’t help the wave of sadness that rolled through her. Every moment they moved closer to Dallas was a moment closer to her and Nick going their separate ways.

It was agony.

At least sitting here on the bus, they were together. The rest of the passengers were chattering away, but Diane couldn’t find a single thing to say. Everything that passed through her mind was trivial or too deep, desperate or too casual. She wanted to tell Nick how much he’d come to mean to her, how sad it made her just to think of them parting ways. The idea of him returning to London was almost physically painful, but telling him was impossible. She simply couldn’t find the right words. Instead, she had to be content with knowing he was beside her, his knee and hers pressed together in the small space.

Arriving at the plane, they caught each other’s eye, and Diane had to hold in a sob. Perhaps Nick saw it, because he covered her hand with his briefly, giving it a quick squeeze and withdrawing again before she could react. It left her skin warm, then cold as they hit the outside air again. She flexed it, hoping to dispel the strange sensation as quickly as possible.

“Hello!” the flight attendant greeted them. She was teary, obviously as emotional about all this as anyone else. “Please take your original seats. Our flight was almost full and are almost no spare seats. Please take your allocated seats from the original flight!” The same message was repeated as the passengers filed slowly past towards the stairs. A huge list was pinned to a board beside the plane; lots of people jumped out of line to double check their seat, burbles of laughter floating through the air.

Diane followed the line automatically, her mind reeling. She hadn’t even thought about seating on the plane. Of course she and Nick had been seated separately on the original flight; they hadn’t even known each other then. In these last days they’d grown so close. It had become automatic, on the rare occasion that she found herself without Nick, to seek him out. Finding herself without him was uncomfortable. The first time, she’d wondered if she was getting too attached, but the relief and happiness on his face when their eyes met reassured her that it wasn’t just her. 

And now they’d be on the same plane, rows apart and unable to see each other, let alone speak.

“Do you remember where your seat was?” Nick asked.

Diane turned to him, trying for a smile. She was fairly sure it failed when the sadness in Nick’s eyes registered. “5D,” she said. “D for Diane, 5 letters in my name.”

“Easy to remember,” Nick said. “I was further back. 37C.”

Diane nodded. It was so far away, she thought, when they’d barely been more than a few metres apart over the last three days. The flight would be eight hours or so, plus however long it took them to get going, and to land and taxi. She wanted to ask him to switch seats so they could sit next to one another; to see if he’d mind if she wanted to, but the risk felt too great. Leaving the shelter, as her heart started slowly cracking, Diane had finally admitted to herself how hard she was falling for Nick. Her emotional investment already meant she was hurting. Hearing Nick politely refuse her would be her undoing, and she simply didn’t have the resources to deal with it.

They moved forward with the line, shuffling slowly, but the time passed too quickly and all of a sudden they were at the top of the stairs. It had felt like climbing the scaffold to face the hangman, she thought morbidly.

“Well,” Nick said, when she prepared to turn left and he right. “If we don’t see each other before Dallas…” he trailed off.

“I’ll wait for you,” Diane assured him. She tried again for a smile, but it wobbled and the tears almost broke through. “See you then.”

“Goodbye,” Nick said.

She turned away before he could see her crying, dropping into her seat without looking and burying her face in her hands. They were still on the same plane; he probably hadn’t even sat down yet. The eight hours of the flight hadn’t even started yet and already she yearned to be close to him again. His presence was comforting, and it already felt unbearable to be away from him. Why couldn’t their flight have been half empty?

“We’ll be home soon.” The words took a while to register, but a hand on her shoulder made Diane realise they were directed at her from across the aisle.

She looked up, meeting the eye of a woman she vaguely remembered from their shelter. “Yes,” she managed, for something to say. Conversation was not something she was looking for. To occupy her hands she fastened her seatbelt, but her mind still pulsed with the same thought.

She needed Nick.

Flashing the woman a quick smile, Diane leaned forward, pressing her palms to the seat in front of her, her forehead resting on her knuckles.

“Is your husband not travelling with you?” the woman asked. Diane knew her question was innocent, but a fresh wave of grief – was it grief? – washed over her again. She squeezed her eyes closed, hoping the woman would get the message and stop.

Instead she felt a hand on her shoulder again. “Here you are, dear.”

Sighing, Diane sat up, accepting the tissues being pressed into her hand. She was hardly the only emotional person on the plane. All she wanted was to be left alone, and there was this woman, leaning out into the aisle to speak to her.

“I’m not married,” she said, deliberately not supplying more details. Explaining would lead to more questions…

“Really? What about-”

“Look,” Diane said, closing her eyes again. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t actually want to talk right now. I am travelling alone,” the word was thick with emotion and she almost couldn’t go on, “thank you. Thank you for the tissues.” She threw the woman a tight smile without looking and resumed her position leaning against the seat ahead of her.

There would be time for regret later, at her impatience, but right now there was no room for anything but the pain of missing Nick. It rolled over her in waves and Diane let it, tears dropping off the bottom of her chin in slow drips. She tried to focus on her breathing, needing something to bind her mind to her body. The hot, pounding throb in her temple matched the steady beat of her heart. She was surprised it was still functioning, such was the ache in her chest. Her face tingled, hands grew numb with the pressure, but she couldn’t move.

It seemed that she was there forever; time didn’t mean a lot, passing only in heartbeats. Her world comprised only herself and the seat in front. The safety demonstration happened probably, because they took off; the swoop in her stomach was distinctive but fleeting. She was trying to cope with the unexpected. Not that she hadn’t expected she and Nick to go their separate ways, but not so soon.

In the depth of her heart, she’d hoped he would say something on the plane. Something to indicate how he felt, if he maybe, just maybe…

But it was too late for that now. Dallas would be manic; people everywhere, and the noise and public spaces would make an intimate conversation impossible. They hadn’t even exchanged phone numbers yet.

Another sob, but there were no more tears to fall. With a sigh, Diane pulled back a little, lowering her face to the tissues she still held. Lord, her makeup would be a disaster. Carefully, she blotted her cheeks and under her eyes, breathing deeply. She couldn’t cry for the whole trip. It would be a lot more comfortable if she apologised to her neighbour, too.

Glancing to her right, she froze.

Nick had appeared without her even realising. He was kneeling in the aisle, drawing attention from several people around, but Diane’s focus was him. Some of her anxiety eased just knowing he was so close.

Slowly, Diane sat back, looking into Nick’s face, his familiar eyes. He looked concerned, she registered absently.

“What are you doing here?” the words spilled from her mouth without a thought.

“Your friend across the aisle came looking for me,” Nick said.

Diane’s eyes closed in embarrassment. “What did she say?” she managed.

Nick didn’t speak for long enough that Diane opened her eyes, wondering if he was going to answer at all.

“She was…blunt,” he said. “She wanted to know what I’d done to make you so upset.”

“Ah,” Diane replied, her cheeks reddening even further. “She didn’t believe me when I said I wasn’t married.”

“Nor I,” Nick said.

Silence descended over them, but Diane couldn’t pull her eyes from his face. He looked almost amused, but it was gentle. Affectionate, if she dared to label it so. The word bounced around in her head as she studied him, the tension building until she couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Why…what?” she said.

“I came up to see if you’re alright,” he said.

“Why?” Diane whispered. She was breathing faster, feeling the moment come to a head. Her pulse was thumping, and her desperation for Nick to do something was pushing through her body with the same insistence.

He opened his mouth to speak, but the cabin shuddered with turbulence, and he was thrown forward a little, bracing one hand on the seat in front of Diane even as she lurched.

Everything slowed as Diane turned her head, seeing Nick do the same, their eyes meeting over so few centimetres it made her breath catch in her throat.

Long, slow beats in her throat, Nick’s eyes holding hers. Each pulse eased her uncertainty. His heart was in his eyes, telling her what she’d been so desperate to know.

Hesitantly, she smiled, encouraging him. Inviting him to act, to put aside his doubts. Wanting to do it herself but needing him to meet her halfway, at least.

“Will you two kiss each other already?” someone shouted.

It should have startled them.

The laughter and applause should have done the same.

Instead Diane felt her smile widen, Nick’s drawing her in until once again her world condensed but this time, he was there with her. They didn’t speak, but both moved together at the same time.

Fingers curling in his shirt.

Hands cupping her face.

Mouths pressing, sliding.

Relief coursing through her veins, an exultant triumph chasing it. Finally, they’d made it. Overcome their combined fears and worries to be here, surrounded by the cheers and applause of their fellow passengers.

“Not married, hey?” The woman from across the aisle spoke, her voice bursting the bubble.

“Not yet,” Nick replied, grinning at Diane. The crowd cheered anew as Diane flushed and buried her face in his shoulder.

“Come on, you’d best swap with me, mate,” a London accent, rougher than Nick’s but friendly, said from the seat beside Diane.

They shuffled around until Nick and Diane were settled into the window and middle seats, the aisle seat beside them blessedly free as the Londoner and his friend tactfully found other seats. Diane was acutely aware of people around them still murmuring, and she took refuge in Nick. He had taken her hand as soon as he could, and now they sat thrillingly close, bodies turned inward. Smiling into each other’s eyes, the relief was still fresh that neither had to hide anymore.

“We should thank her,” Nick murmured. “That woman.”

“In our wedding speech?” Diane shot back.

Nick had the good grace to look abashed, but he met Diane’s eyes. “Not yet,” he repeated, pressing a smiling kiss to her lips.

Not yet.


End file.
